Movie Review for Lars and the Real Girl (2007)

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Lars and the Real Girl

Review #557 of 365
Movie Review of Lars and the Real Girl (2007) [PG-13] 106 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $14.75
Where Viewed: Landmark Mayan, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 26 October 2007
Time: 5:50 pm
DVD Release Date: 15 April 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer

Soundtrack: Download now from David Torn - Lars and the Real Girl (Music from the Motion Picture) - or - order the CD below

Directed by: Craig Gillespie (Mr. Woodcock)
Screenplay by: Nancy Oliver ("Six Feet Under")

Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Ryan Gosling (Fracture) • Emily Mortimer (The Pink Panther) • Paul Schneider (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford) • R.D. Reid (Capote) • Kelli Garner (Normal Adolescent Behavior) • Patricia Clarkson (No Reservations)

Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word or less review of this film]
Click to see photos from the Premiere of Lars and the Real Girl
Click to read the spoiler points for Lars and the Real Girl
There comes a time each year, when you are watching a movie when you have to sit there in awe and think, "Am I seeing the best picture of the year right now?" Due to the year-long release schedule and unless it's 31 December in New York City, of course, you may not know for sure that a better film won't come along in three weeks. Likewise, not everyone gets the opportunity to see every film that comes out each year, not even the best and most ardent critics necessarily see every single film, there are hundreds and hundreds released. Even so, one may ponder this notion of 'best picture' with some semblance of delight for 'being in on it'. And, naturally, 'best picture' despite the commercialized voting system for the Academy Awards® is still a relative and, perhaps, more personal selection than is actually realized by either the Academy or Hollywood in general. Still, there's nothing quite like getting that feeling when it seems that just about every element of a film from the acting to the writing to the directing to the cinematography to the most important aspect of any truly good film—the story—all seem to come together creating a profoundly moving experience that remains with you forever. And, yes, all of this is leading up to that very feeling, as it erupted ebulliently from deep within some spot where mind, soul, and heart converge, that Lars and the Real Girl might just be the best picture of the year. At the very least, as amazing as Ryan Gosling has been in his short career, this performance ranks among the most significant and inspired performances by a male actor, perhaps, ever. Now, of course, this might seem like excessive hyperbole from someone who just really liked this little and unassuming film. See the film, and then comment. It's one of the most profoundly impacting experiences I can recall having going back more than 30 years of going to the movies. Why is this film so special? What's so great about Gosling?

Well, it all boils down again to the story. What continues to be lost on all the people investing in films and bringing them to the big screen in a big way, is that nothing matters more than the story. A great cast with a huge budget in a so-so story is going to be a bit greater than so-so. Time and again we see this ultimate truth about movies come to the surface. The funny thing about a great story is that they usually tend to come from right out of nowhere and knock you flat on your back. If anyone is ever able to figure out the precise recipe, that moment of clarity will be immediately followed by a day of reckoning where it will be revealed that the recipe is already stale and must be abandoned consequently. There is no recipe. The right ingredients just come together and out pops this story powerful enough to roll you up and take you home. This is not an easy or simple effect to achieve. For, true, really grand stories can be ruined entirely by the wrong actors, the wrong writers, the wrong effects, the wrong music, and so on. Therefore, the production of a true 'best picture' could not possibly be more improbable, and probably most artists and producers who set out trying to make such a film, are destined to fail. It's almost as if serendipity simply must be in your favor—which, of course, is a bit oxymoronic. The evolution of the greatness must arise organically like the unexpected flavors that emerge from a random assortment of ingredients thrown into a pie. And this is exactly, it seems, what emerges on screen as one settles down into a high-backed rocking stadium seat at the neighborhood cinemas to soak in Lars and the Real Girl.

The story begins rather innocently. Lars Lindstrom (Ryan Gosling) leads an offbeat seemingly mundane life. After his father passed away, he and his brother, Gus, inherited the house. As Gus (Paul Schneider) and his wife Karin (Emily Mortimer) are about to have a baby, they move into the house, and Lars moves into the garage. Lars goes to work every day in his cubicle job doing what ever it is he does to earn his basic living. He interacts, though aloofly, with his co-workers but shuns the obvious advances of the 'new girl' Margo (Kelli Garner). He prefers to keep to himself, something that Karin cannot quite comprehend. For all her well-meaning moments, she tries desperately to unlock the enigma that Lars has become. But her attempts mostly fail as he defeats her kindness with simple stoic responses. Things are odd, but life in their small upper Midwestern town are pretty routine. That is until Lars receives a large crate in the mail one afternoon while at work. Karin phones him to let him know that something huge has arrived for him, and she's had it taken into the garage. That evening, as if with some divine intervention, Lars will open the box and neither his life nor that of anyone in the entire town will ever be the same. The box does not contain some long-lost artifact, treasure, an elixir from fairy tales, no it contains a life-sized, female Real Doll, and yes, if you must know, she is anatomically correct. Her outfit, however, is a bit too lewd for the sensibilities of the fairly conservative town or even Lars for that matter. He bashfully removes her from the crate and then gleefully informs his brother and sister-in-law that he has a new guest whom he's met on the Internet. So delighted is Karin that she unabashedly invites Lars and his new friend over for dinner. Some twenty or so minutes later, Gus and Karin will meet the most extraordinary 'person' they've ever met as Lars brings Bianca over as promised.

"…as amazing as Ryan Gosling has been in his short career, this performance ranks among the most significant and inspired leading performances by a male actor, perhaps, ever."
Not knowing exactly how to respond to the realization that Lars's friend is, well, not a real person, they dance around the topic mostly in a decent but patronizing way. All of this is lost on Lars who, for the first time in weeks or months or, perhaps, even years seems to be really at peace. He's smiling and happy and talking to and about Bianca. He then asks for their kindness in allowing Bianca to sleep at their house as he's not comfortable sleeping in his small garage apartment with her since they've only just met. Gus tries to put his foot down, but Karin wisely smoothes things over and agrees to Lars's requests. She even volunteers to loan Bianca, whose suitcase was stolen during her long journey, some more befitting clothes. The next day, as the mythology around Bianca becomes more elaborate, Gus and Karin do begin to worry about Lars's mental state. As hard as one might try to convince oneself that it's perfectly normal for a grown man to be consorting with, talking to and for, a life-sized doll, they cannot. They decide it best to convince Lars to take himself and Bianca to the doctor. They use the notion that Bianca may not be feeling well from her long journey, and that seeing the doctor would be a wise move. Lars is touched by their concern for Bianca and agrees to allow them to take him and Bianca to see the local doctor Dagmar (Patricia Clarkson). In no time, Dagmar realizes that Lars is experiencing an extraordinary delusion and that, for some reason, he must need this. She predicts that Bianca has arrived at a much-needed point in Lars's life to fulfill some needs and help him move on. She also suggests that everyone, in the entire town, is going to have to accept Bianca for Lars's sake. While skeptical and highly reluctant at first, the townspeople are motivated to go along with Lars's delusion because, deep down, he is one of their own, and they know he's had a difficult life. What no one could ever imagine, and this is just the beginning of the magic of the film, is that over the course of Lars's and Bianca's growing relationship, she, a giant glob of silicone on an articulated steel skeleton, would become one of the most beloved and important 'people' in the entire town.

How this happens, the impact it has on Lars and the rest of the town; and, more importantly, the end results achieved for all those touched by Lars and Bianca, is the great substance of this nearly miraculous story. Probably no one could have been convinced from the outset that either Bianca would have such an effect on the characters in the story, nor that this story would have such a profound effect on those who see the film. Of course, the lion's share of the credit for making this work rests squarely on the truly remarkable performance by Ryan Gosling. Just to note, he does several complete scenes where it is just Lars and Bianca. And never once does it, by this point in the film, seem like anything less than a perfectly 'normal', 'romantic' walk in the park between two people for Ryan Gosling so endows her with life, it's as if he's able to project his own self onto and through her just as the character does. He performs her part for her but not in a perverse or unbelievable way.

"… a film worthy of not just a best picture nomination but also consideration as one of the top films of the decade."
What also makes this story work is the way in which the town and by extension the rest of the cast works seamlessly as if in, to some degree, on Lars's delusion. All of this is accomplished with incredible humor that's tasteful and true without pandering to the prurient interests of small-minded individuals and brilliant drama, for clearly, Lars is deeply, desperately mentally wounded. The film takes a rather unique look into mental illness, the causes, and treatments. In this case, it is the tenderness and approach of the entire town that plays the most instrumental role in Lars's healing process. Were every delusional person to be so lucky as to have this sort of support system, perhaps every story could have this, albeit bittersweet but nonetheless, happy ending.

Director Craig Gillespie has turned Nancy Oliver's screenplay into an irresistible motion picture, and Ryan Gosling has created a character and performance for the ages. Emily Mortimer was charming and spectacular, and this guy, Paul Schneider, having just delivered a noteworthy performance in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is quickly proving himself to be an up and coming star. Patricia Clarkson, long over due, in her career a moment to shine as she does so well here as her character deftly guides Lars through this experience. The film proves that without giant budgets, special effects, and headline grabbing stars, rather with pure passion, a bravely bewildering story, and, of course, that serendipity factor, one can achieve unexpectedly what others willfully pursue their entire lives, a film worthy of not just a best picture nomination but also consideration as one of the top films of the decade.

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Other Projects Featuring Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Cast Members
Ryan Gosling • Emily Mortimer • Paul Schneider
R.D. Reid • Kelli Garner • Patricia Clarkson
Director
Craig Gillespie
Writer
Nancy Oliver
CD Soundtrack


Review-lite Lars and the Real Girl (2007) [max of 150 words]
A profoundly moving cinematic experience that derives its greatness from the simplicity of its bewildering story. A young man, lost in a curious delusion believing a life-sized doll to be his soul mate, bring about a lasting change in his small Midwestern town as to what it means to be a 'real' person. In the process, Lars (Ryan Gosling), forces everyone to confront his mental illness, and help him rediscover the true person he can be. The wonderful cast and understanding direction from Craig Gillespie who seems light years away from his direction of Mr. Woodcock, prove to make Lars and the Real Girl one of the best films of the decade, let alone year.
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